The Warintza project is a potential large-scale copper, gold, molybdenum resource in Ecuador. First discovered in 2000, it is in exploration stage with drilling campaign and metallurgical testing underway.
Canada-based Solaris Resources fully owns the Warintza project.
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According to an updated resource estimate, effective 1 April 2022, the property has indicated resources of 579 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.47% copper, 0.03% molybdenum and 0.05 gram gold per tonne.
Solaris plans to develop a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the project in the near future.
Location and Site details
The Warintza project is located in the Province of Morona Santiago, south-eastern Ecuador. The site is around 85km east of the city of Cuenca in a rural part of the inland mountain range Cordillera del Cóndor.
Overall, the property has nine metallic mineral concessions covering an area of 268km2. Exploration activities are permitted in four concessions.
There are four additional concessions contiguous with the original concession, and one concession to the northwest.
The property can be accessed by a road from the nearest national Highway 45. An unsealed 550m-long airstrip at the village of Warintza will also enable access by air using an airplane or helicopter.
Geology and Mineralisation
According to the NI 43‐101 Technical Report for the Warintza Project, the property is underlain by Jurassic supracrustal volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Mishuallli Member of the Chapiza Formation.
It also includes Jurassic granitoids of the Zamora Batholith.
The property has four known porphyry copper-molybdenum target areas- Warintza Central, Warintza West, Warintza East and Warintza South.
The four targets are located within a 12km2 area centred on Warintza Central.
Warintza Central is a calc‐alkalic copper‐molybdenum porphyry deposit with copper mineralisation. The three other discoveries were partially drill‐tested, with additional copper‐molybdenum anomalies identified at Yawi and El Trinche and elsewhere on the property.
Mineral Resource Estimate
The Mineral Resource Estimate for Warintza project was based on more than 64,500m of diamond drilling data and includes estimates of copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo) and gold (Au) resources.
The Cu grades were estimated based on ten separate domains, while Mo and Au were based on seven and four domains respectively.
Based on the updated mineral resource estimate announced by Solaris in April 2022, the mine has indicated resources of 579Mt grading 0.47% copper, 0.03% molybdenum and 0.05 gram gold per tonne for 2.7Mt of copper, 0.15Mt of molybdenum and 930,000Moz of gold.
The property has inferred resources of 887Mt grading 0.39% copper, 0.01% molybdenum and 0.04 gram gold per tonne.
There is no record of historical ore production from the Warintza Property. Metallurgical testing is underway, with full characterisation of Warintza’s mineralisation is awaited.
Mining Methods
Most mines based on porphyry deposits are open pits. However, at the current stage of the project, mining method for Warintza has not been finalised.
Contracts and Agreements
The NI 43‐101 Technical Report for the Warintza Project, Ecuador, with an effective date of 1 April 2022, was prepared by Mario E. Rossi, Principal Geostatistician of Geosystems International.
Mine Development Associates (MDA) had prepared a Technical Report on the Warintza Project in 2018.
In 2020, Solaris contracted Geotech to complete an advanced ZTEM (Z-Axis Tipper Electromagnetic) survey for the property to provide precise electromagnetic measurements to great depths.
Solaris and the Shuar Nations have completed an Impacts and Benefits Agreement in 2020 related to the relationship between a resource developer and the traditional owners of the lands.
In March 2022, Solaris announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC EP) to supply locally sourced hydroelectric power to the Warintza Project.
In June 2022, Solaris signed an agreement with the Government of Ecuador regarding an Investment Protection Agreement for its Warintza project.
The company signed the Investment Contract for the project in December 2022 to secure investment protections, regulatory and fiscal stability, and tax incentives.
